Three Hawks sign National Letters of Intent to continue athletic careers

Matt Metcalf, Assistant Sports Editor
Posted 11/20/14

A trio of Bishop Hendricken student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic careers in college on Wednesday morning.

John Toppa and Andrew Ciacciarelli of …

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Three Hawks sign National Letters of Intent to continue athletic careers

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A trio of Bishop Hendricken student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic careers in college on Wednesday morning.

John Toppa and Andrew Ciacciarelli of Hendricken’s state champion baseball team were two Hawks’ athletes to sign. Toppa, who is a two-time First Team All-State selection and also the quarterback of the football team, will be continuing his baseball career at the Division I University of Connecticut next year. Ciacciarelli, who plays first base and was a key contributor to the Hawks’ title run in June, will be suiting up for Division II American International College next year.

“I’ve known for a little bit, but it’s definitely good to have everything official,” Toppa said. “It’s awesome to have friends and family here, who have been behind me through everything I’ve done for the past four years.”

The third Hawk was cross country and track standout Michael Potter, who will be attending Northeastern University in the fall. The senior placed 15th at the Cross Country State Championships this fall. Potter also placed 11th in the 1500 meters at the RIIL Indoor State Championships in his junior year, while finishing fifth in the 3000 meters. At the RIIL Outdoor State Championships last spring, Potter impressed once again, placing seventh in the 3000 meters.

For all three student-athletes, other schools definitely came into consideration, but they’re all thrilled with their decisions.

“I definitely considered some other schools,” Potter said. “I went on an official visit to Lehigh University and I also had a couple other official visits set up. But once I visited Northeastern, I knew it was the school for me. I really liked the atmosphere, the coaches and the students there.”

Ciacciarelli knew that AIC was the right place for him when he visited as well. The lanky first baseman was intrigued by the baseball program, which plays in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Yellow Jackets are a building program under head coach Nick Callini, who guided his squad to a 15-26 record this past spring.

“I went up to the campus to meet with coach Callini and I really liked the school,” Ciacciarelli said. “He had me workout with the team and everyone on the team was just really nice. (Callini) is a great guy and he’s giving me the opportunity to play as a freshman. It’s a dream come true.”

Toppa, who is primarily a third-baseman but has also has played outfield at Hendricken, drew interest from a number of schools in his recruiting process. However, the coaches at Connecticut are what set the school apart from other institutions.

“The thing that set the difference for me was the relationships that I immediately felt with the coaches,” Toppa said. “I felt like they would do a really good job in pushing me to be a better player and person on and off the field. That’s what made them kind of transcend above the other schools that I was looking at.”

Ciacciarelli and Toppa, who will be two of the team’s top returners this coming season, will look to give the Hawks’ baseball program another title in the spring. Hendricken will be looking for its fourth straight baseball title and its seventh in the last eight years.

“Going into the year, you always want to set the goal of winning a state championship,” Toppa said. “The coaches and the other players on our team all push one another so we can hopefully achieve that ultimate goal. Just like every other year, we’ll be going in with high expectations, but we’ll be working hard to meet them.”

They will be in good shape, as the team will also return their starting catcher, shortstop and centerfielder in Gian Martellini, John Willette and Dante Baldelli.

“The goal is always to win a state championship,” Ciacciarelli said. “We have a lot of talent going into next year and we’ll have a really good team. We’ll have the opportunity to win another state title.”

For Potter, after some injury problems during the cross country season, he’ll look to finish his senior year strong in indoor and outdoor track.

“I hope that the track seasons will be a little bit better than cross country,” Potter said. “I got sick and had an injury. But I think that the indoor and outdoor seasons will be very good.”

It must’ve been nice for Toppa to put football on the back burner for at least a little while on Wednesday, as the Hendricken football team is preparing for a big match-up with Portsmouth in the Division I semifinals on Friday night. It was clear that the two-sport star wanted to take some time to let the signing sink in.

“It’s definitely a relief to put the pen to the paper and seal the deal,” Toppa said.

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